BoF2: Epilogue
by Dark Dragon 250
Summary: This story is mainly about Ryu and Nina, but Bow, Katt, and a new character do play major roles. May have mature themes later on, but for now it's just rated T. Details Ryu and Nina's relationship and includes more about the Woren tribe, Katt's tribe.
1. Chapter 1

_The chapters will be fairly short, but they will be relatively frequent. This is my first fic, so please tell me what you like and what you think I should improve on. Please don't just tell me that you liked/hated it.

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Chapter 1.

_Black. _That was the colour that she hated, that she had to see every day in the mirror. Not the faux black skin colour that is more brown than black, but pure black.

The colour of her wings.

She had been exiled from her home because of them. Forced to leave the ones she loved. Her father, her mother.

Her sister.

Her sister gave more than her life. She gave up her body, her mind; her self. Despite this, those that know her still call her by her name, Mina.

Mina Windia, sister to Nina Windia, the owner of the black wings.

It has been one year now, since they sealed Deathevan and destroyed the false church of Saint Eva. Ryu nearly gave up his life that day, as his mother did, before him. At the last moment, his father, Ganer, had crashed the flying Town Ship into the mountain, sealing the entrance to Infinity, and with it, Deathevan.

When she returned home, Nina expected to be treated like the hero that she was, but she remained an outcast. The people of Windia were blinded by superstition against her black wings. Her mother and father, the king and queen, had offered to take her back in, despite the will of the people, but she had refused.

Since then, she had spent the time travelling, honing her magic, and being with Mina. Now that Deathevan was gone, she could allow herself to cry over her lost sister. Whenever she stared into the bird's eyes, she would start crying again.

Lately, however, she found herself thinking of Ryu more and more. She had been in seclusion long enough; she was ready to face her friend.

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A clang rung out across the field as Ryu's sword collided with the plate of armour. He had to make sure he was in top shape in case any of the remaining demons attacked. Although most had disappeared after the sealing of Deathevan, the occasional survivor would appear and attack a town. At the moment, he was locked in mortal combat with a straw dummy. In the past year, had teamed up once again with his friend Bow, and they were once again taking jobs as Rangers. Their success in sealing Deathevan had bumped them up a few ranks, to say the least.

Bow casually approached the scene, unnoticed. He watched for a while before he pulled out his crossbow and impaled the dummy's head. "Now that's how you kill something, Ryu!" he shouted to his friend.

"Sure, Bow, when you're at the other end of the field," Ryu shouted back, "but try doing that when a demon is trying to show you your own organs!"

Bow was the only friend that he had regularly kept in contact with. All of the others had gone off on their own. Rand had gone back to tend his mother's farm, while Sten had returned to Highfort to marry the princess, Elforan. Jean had gone to look after his sister and aging father at Simafort, and Bleu had gone back to sleep. No one knew where Spar had gone, but they assumed that he had decided to return to nature. Katt had decided to go on a long trip to find the rest of her tribe, the Woren, and they only saw her occasionally, through brief but enjoyable visits. She had had no luck so far, but she would occasionally hear rumours of cat-like people near one town or another. Nina had tried to return home, but was still considered an exile by the Windian people. She had gone off on her own with Mina and no one had heard from her for months.

"Come on back, buddy, it's getting late." Bow's words jolted Ryu from his memories. "Yeah, just let me pack up my stuff," he called back.

It was on the way back that he saw the giant bird.

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Nina knew that she would find him in the now-landed Town Ship. They had all built the place together, after all. As her eyes scanned the area, she spotted him in a clearing on the outskirts of Gate, hacking away at a straw dummy. She smiled. She could imagine the focussed look on his face. She saw him pack up his sword and start to head back, and she saw him look to the sky and see her riding on Mina.

She flew in to land at the town square of Town Ship, and Ryu quickly climbed the ladder on the edge to get to the top of the plateau. Mina flew off to do whatever she did and Ryu ran to see Nina. "Nina!" he exclaimed. She said nothing, just hugged him, which he returned. "Are you all right?" he asked. Nina nodded. "Yes," she said, to show that her voice still worked. "Where's Katt?" she asked, as the walked back to the main building. "She's trying to find her remaining tribemates," Ryu answered.

She started as a hand clasped her shoulder. "I thought I saw you!" exclaimed Bow. "So did Ryu, seeing as he took off at a full gallop. What brings you here?" Nina smiled, and spoke quietly. "I'm finished grieving. I've had enough time to think and I wanted to see my friends again."

Bow nodded and ran ahead. "I'll see you later, if you're staying! Right now, I'm starved! I'm gonna go cook up some dinner!" Nina turned to Ryu. "He's the same as ever, isn't he?" Ryu laughed. "You know what they say, you can't teach an old dog new tricks." Nina laughed as well. "So, you are staying, right?" questioned Ryu. "Only as long as I'm wanted," answered Nina. "What have you been doing, Ryu?" He wiped his brow before he answered. "We've gone back to being Rangers. Do you want to join us?" "Sounds like something to do," Nina said.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2.

A stone fell away from the cliff and dropped silently into the abyss below. Ryu shivered and glared playfully at Nina, already above him on the next ledge, thanks to her wings. "Don't worry, Ryu, I'm here if you fall," she said. "I'm not worried about me falling, I'm just jealous of how easily you can make it up here with your wings," he retorted. "If you need wings so badly, why don't you just turn into a dragon?" she asked, smirking.

Ryu climbed up to the ledge and sat down to rest. "Because I'm already tired enough without changing shape," was his response.

It was the day after Nina had returned, and already they were on a job. It was fairly simple; they needed to rescue someone from a kidnapping. Bow had decided not to come, and instead go out hunting, as there were now three people to feed and they were running low on food. The interesting thing, however, was where the kidnapping was.

Mount Rocko.

They both remembered well a previous kidnapping that had taken place there. In fact, it was there that they had first officially met, when the Joker Gang had kidnapped Nina's sister, Mina. It made sense that another gang would have taken up residence in the abandoned tunnels, and that was why they were headed there now.

They continued to climb the cliff until they reached a person-sized hole in the ground; a vent, to let air into the main chamber. Seeing as there was no way to climb down into the opening, Nina would have to carry Ryu into the main chamber. She grabbed him from behind underneath his arms and slowly lowered them into the gap. Ryu blushed slightly at the closeness. Once inside the main chamber, Nina landed on a large boulder and released him. They perched together on the rock and surveyed the cave, the darkness hiding them both from sight. Although she hated to admit it, her black wings actually helped to conceal her from the guards posted around the cavern.

They finally located the cage where the prisoner they were here to rescue was being kept. Ryu barely stifled a gasp as he realized what was behind the bars. It was a Woren, one of Katt's tribesmen. He looked to be in about his late teens, and was wearing nothing but a collar around his neck and a cloth around his waist. He was like a tiger from his feet to his waist, but like Katt - and unlike Tiga, the only male Woren that they had met - he was human from the waist up. The collar made it obvious that he wasn't being held for ransom, he was going to be sold as a slave.

Ryu began to mumble a dragon transformation spell under his breath, but Nina stopped him by tapping him on the shoulder and pointing back to the cage, which a tall, strong man, obviously the leader of the gang, was approaching. A thin, mean-looking man was with him, but didn't seem to be part of the gang. Ryu briefly wondered who it could be, before he realized that this man was most likely a prospective buyer. As the boss rapped on the cage, the Woren looked up and hissed.

"Hmm, yes…" the thin man mused, "I think that I will take him." The boss nodded and led the man over to another table to begin bartering. At this, Ryu and Nina climbed down from their perch and began to make their way silently toward the cage. Nina was hovering slightly above the ground in order to not make any noise. As they approached the enclosure, the Woren inside looked at them and began whining. Nina put a finger to her lips to quiet him down.

Too late.

The men paused in their bargaining and two guards made their way over to the cage. With no-where to hide, Ryu immediately began his transformation while Nina blasted the lock off the cage. The two guards broke into a run and the boss soon joined them, along with several other guards. A smaller guard was the first one to get there, and was surprised when he was rammed into by 170 pounds of angry Woren. A group of guards arrived, confident in their ability to contain the Woren, but were literally blown off their feet by a gust of wind from the wings of a dragon that had suddenly materialized in the middle of the cave. Nina smiled and set to work picking off the stragglers with fireballs. With all the guards taken care of, the remaining two men's faces changed colour, the buyer's white with fear, while the boss's was red with anger. Suddenly, from behind the boss, the previously caged Woren leaped out and began to attack him. He got a few claws in before the boss threw him off. The boy was about to leap back on when the boss's entire body began to glow white. Nina's eyes widened as she recognized what was happening. She yelled at Ryu to get ready.

Where the man once stood there was now a giant boar. The creature was covered in mangy brown fur and saliva dripped from its mouth. Giant tusks jutted out menacingly from its jaw. As the creature turned to watch the young Woren scamper away, a lightning bolt hit it from the gaping maw of the dragon behind it. As it turned to charge Ryu, a fireball hit it in the side. It swiped its tusks to the side and easily batted the small winged annoyance away. The dragon roared its anger and charged the beast itself, tearing at it with its jaws and blasting it with lightning.

As the two beasts fought, the Woren slipped, unnoticed, toward the unconscious form of Nina. He easily picked her up and carried her to the next room, being careful of her wings. The man who was ready to buy him was already hiding there and paled as the boy growled at him. He ran off and the boy went back into the main chamber after placing Nina on a cot in the room, where the sounds of fighting had stopped. The great boar was on its side, dead, and where the dragon once stood was an 18-year-old boy with blue hair, panting and leaning against a rock.

As the Woren approached him, he straightened himself. "Are you okay?" he asked. "I should be asking you that, dragon boy," countered the Woren.

"Fair enough. Where's Nina?"

"The girl with wings? She was unconscious, so I carried her into the other room."

Ryu nodded and made his way there. "What's your name?" he asked the Woren. "Leon. Thanks for saving me." "Nice to meetcha. I'm Ryu, and she's Nina," he said, referring to the shape lying on the cot. Leon nodded, not recognizing their names.

"Do you know anywhere we can go around here to rest, Leon? I don't feel like staying in this cave." Leon nodded. "There should be an old hunters' cabin a little ways from the mountain." "Good, we can stay there until she wakes up."

They made their way through the caves, Ryu carrying Nina, until they reached the entrance. They both covered their eyes from the brightness, Leon more so than Ryu, as he had more sensitive eyes and had been in the dark for longer. His eyes adjusted just in time to dodge the giant bird that immediately dive-bombed him. "No, Mina!" yelled Ryu, "He didn't hurt Nina!" The bird seemed to understand and flew a little ways away.

"What the hell was that!?" shouted Leon. "Nina's sister," replied Ryu. Seeing the look in Ryu's eyes, Leon stopped himself from asking any more questions. They hiked in silence until they reached the cabin that Leon had mentioned. It was pretty run-down, but it would do, for now.


End file.
